Retractable supports for cargo



Nov. 13, 1962 L. L. DOTY, JR, ETAL RETRACTABLE SUPPORTS FOR CARGO 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1, 1960 INVENTORS Luther L. Dot ,Ji:

1 neys BY Thomas 0. Smith]! W a Rttor Nov. 13, 1962 DOTY, JR" ETAL3,063,667

RETRACTABLE SUPPORTS FOR CARGO 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 1. 1960 m ymfi D s N 0 E00 W 69 L m rw 0 m o P t u t T 1 hj -zq Nov. 13, 1962 DOTY,JR., ETAL 3,063,657

RETRACTABLE SUPPORTS FOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 1. 1960 hm WWUnited rates 3,663,667 RETRACTABLE SUPPORTS FOR CARGt) Luther L. Duty,Jr., and Thomas 0. Smith 111, Brrnnngham, Ala., assignors toMoore-Handley Hardware Company, Inc., a corporation of Alabama FiledAug. 1, men, Ser. No. 46,510 13 Claims. (Cl. 248-150) This inventionrelates to retractable supports for shipping containers and the like andmore particularly to retractable supports that are housed within acompartmentextending transversely of the container.

Heretofore, with some minor exceptions, retractable legs have normallybeen housed alongside the container and have been pivoted between avertical supporting position and a horizontal retracted position in aplane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the container. This type ofleg has not formed a very compact structure.

It is an object of the present invention to provide retractable legs fora shipping container or the like having a compartment extendingtransversely of the container for substantially the entire width thereofwith the retractable leg being received slidably in the compartmentwhereby the leg is fully covered by the compartment to form a compactunit.

Another object of our invention is to provide a retractable Ieg housedwithin a compartment extending transversely of a container with the legbeing pivoted between vertical and horizontal positions in a planeperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the container whereby the legmay be moved inwardly and outwardly of the compartment in a straightline direction and the leg may be locked in a vertical supportingposition by the weight of the container on the leg.

A further object of the invention is to provide a removable housingcomprising two compartments in sideby-side relation with eachcompartment having a retractable leg unit therein and means to movesimultaneously the leg units in opposite directions inwardly andoutwardly of the compartments.

Briefly described, our invention comprises a box channel adjacent an endof a cargo container and extending transversely of the container forsubstantially the entire width thereof with a leg unit mounted withinthe box channel for sliding movement. The leg unit comprises ahorizontal extension having a support bracket on which a retractable legis mounted for pivotal movement in a plane transversely of thelongitudinal axis of the container. The leg is provided with anelongated upper slot having an abutment directly adjacent the slot onwhich the undersurface of the support bracket rests when the weight ofthe body is transmitted tothe legs. By having the flat lower surface ofthe horizontal extension engage the leg abutment, and at the same timehaving the vertical side of the leg engage a vertical abutment on theextension, the leg is locked in position. When the weight is removedfrom the leg, the leg abutment moves out of contact with the lowersurface of the horizontal extension and the vertical side of the legmoves away from the vertical abutment of the extension to permitpivoting of the leg to horizontal position.

Apparatus embodying features of our invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this invention, in which:

FIG. 1 is. a perspective view of a container having a housing with apair of compartments and positioned in pockets extending transverselybeneath the floor of the container for substantially the entire widththereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a housing removed from the containerwith the leg units extended in horizontal position;

3,063,667 Patented Nov. 13, 1962 ECQ FIG. 3 is a perspective view of ahousing removed from the container and showing the legs in retractedposition completely housed within the housing to form a compact unit,the drive means for extending and retracting the leg units beingremoved;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of a single leg unit shownextended in vertical supporting position and a portion of the housingbroken away to show a sprocket therein;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view looking generally along the line 55 of FIG. 4and showing the arrangement of the drive means to retract and extend.the leg unit relative to the housing;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a retractable leg showing apin securing the upper and lower telescoping sections of the retractableleg;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of the leg sections inretracted horizontal position showing the foot'portion in lockedposition on the upper leg section;

FIG. 8 is a perspective, fragmentary view of the leg in locked verticalsupporting relation with the .abutments;

PEG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the leg housing showing thedrive means for retracting and extending the leg units;

FIG. 10 is a transverse sectional view taken generally along line 10-10of FIG. 9 and showing the leg units secured to a roller chain for inwardand outward movement; and,

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of'the means tosecure the housing within the pocket.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of ourinvention, we show in FIG. 1 the container C indicated by dotted lines.The floor of the container is indicated by the letter F and theundersurface of the container C by the letter B. The bottom B ofcontainer C has a supportingplate thereon and pockets arev formedbetween'the floor and bottom B that extend transversely of container Cfor the entire width thereof.

The pockets are adapted to receive removable housings indicatedgenerally by the numeral 10 which has a bail 11 extending from one endthereof which extends below the bottom B of container C. A fork lifttruck or the like may insert its forks within bail l1 and thereby carrythe entire housing 10 to container C and insert it within the pocketstherein. Toretain housing 10 within the pockets, a pivotally mountedcatch 12 (see FIG. 11) is mounted on housing 10 and is adapted to engagea notch 13 in bottom plate 15 of the pocket. Bail 11 retains housing10in one direction while catch 12 retains housing 10 in the oppositedirection. Spring 14 urges catch 12 downwardly into engagement withnotch 13 and catch 12 may be released manually from notch 13 to permitwithdrawal of housing It If desired, the housing may be permanentlyfixed within the pockets. Also, if the body'is'not provided withpockets,- the housing may be fixed-tothebody' frame.

Two compartments 16' and 17' are provided in each of housings It) inside-by-side relation. The leg unit indicated generally by the'numeral18. is slidably positioned within compartment 16'and leg unit 19 isslidably positioned within compartmentz17. Leg units 18 and 19 areidentical except that leg unit 18 extends from one end of housing 10while leg. unit 19 extends from the other opposite end of housing'10.

Leg unit- 18 comprises a horizontal extension sleeve 21 of box channelshape and slidable within compartment 16. Extension 21 has a supportbracket on the outer end thereof comprising a pair of arms 26 and 27. Aretractable leg indicated generally by numeral 28 is pivotally mountedto arms 26 and 27 which may be provided by bifurcating the end of theextension 21'. The retractable leg comprises an inner lower leg section29 telescoped within an outer upper leg section 31. Upper leg section 31has a tongue 32 on the upper end thereof with an elongated slot 33therein. Slot 33 is elongated substantially longitudinally of the leg28. It has been found that a slot .will function eiiectively if it liesat an angle as much as from the longitudinal axis of the leg. Pin 34pivotally connects arms 26 and 27 to leg section 21. Pin 34 preferablyis fixed to arms 26 and 27. Thus, there is no relative rotation betweenpin 34 and arms 26 and 27.

Releasably to secure the retractable leg 28 in horizontal position, aplunger 37 is mounted on the upper end of lower section 29 to a shield38. The plunger passes through an opening in the foot of tongue 32 andthence into a horizontal opening 39 in the pin 34. Opening 40 extendsthrough the lower portion of tongue 32 to receive plunger 37 when lowersection 29 is pushed into the upper leg 31, when in horizontal position.A groove 35 at the upper end of slot 33 receives the end of plunger 37in the retracted horizontal locked position of leg 28.

To lock releasably leg 28 in vertical supporting position a shoulder orabutment 43 is provided adjacent the lower end of tongue 32. Theundersurface of arms 26 and 27 is adapted to rest on abutment 43 asshown in FIGS. 4 and 8 when the leg unit is in cargo body supportingposition. through extension sleeve 21 onto abutment 43 holds and retainsretractable leg 28 in vertical relation. It is noted that pin 34 isdisposed adjacent the lower end of slot 33 when leg 23 is locked inposition. A vertical abutting surface 45 on extension 21 holds leg 28against lateral movement while preventing shear on pin -34 in onedirection.

To retract lower section 29, a retractable coil spring 46 is mounted inthe upper end of lower leg section 29 and is held in place by the shieldor housing 38. The spring 46 may be a spiral spring having one endsecured at 47 to the upper leg section 31. A suitable spring is soldunder the trademark Negator by The Hunter Spring Co. of Lansdale,Pennsylvania. Leg section 29 is continuously urged upwardly by spring46. To hold leg section 29 in extended position as shown in FIG. 4,apertures 48 are provided therein. Aligned apertures 49 are provided inleg section 31 and a suitable pin 51 extends through aligned openings 48and 49 to hold lower leg section 29 in selective extended position.

A supporting foot 52 is fixed to the lower end of leg section 29 andrests against a supporting surface. To retain lower section 29 inhorizontal retracted position, opening 30 is provided in lower section29 and a ring 41 on foot portion 52. Opening 42 on the lower end ofupper section 31 aligns with opening 30 and pin 51 may be inserted tohold section 31 and section 29 together. When openings 30 and 42 align,plunger 37 is in engagement with opening 39 in pin 34 through opening 40and thus the leg cannot be pivoted about pin 34 without the removal ofpin 51 from aligned openings 30 and 42. This provides a safety featurein our apparatus.

When the weight of container C is removed from retractable legs 28, pin51 may be removed and spring 46 urges lower leg section 29 upwardly.This positions the end of plunger 37 against the rounded surface of pin34. When the whole leg unit 28 is now moved to horizontal position, pin37 enters hole 39 in pin 34 permitting the foot 52 to move into contactwith the lower end of leg section 31. It should be noted that legs 28must be in horizontal position in order for pin 51 to lock sections 29and 31 together. The retractable leg 28 moves downwardly when the Weightof the container C is removed so that pin 34 is in the upper end ofelongated slot 33. In this position, abutment 43 is removed from theundersur- 'face of arms 26 and 27, the rounded end of tongue 32 liesalongside the vertical abutment 45, and leg 28 may be pivoted tohorizontalposition as shown in FIG. 7. In this position plunger 37 isfree to enter opening 39 in pin The weight of container C exerted 4 34and pin 51 may then be inserted in aligned opening: 30 and 42.

To move leg units 18 and 19 inwardly and outwardly of the housing 10simultaneously, sprockets 55 are mounted within housing 10' betweencompartments 16 and 17. A center partition divides compartments 16 am17. A roller chain 53 extends between sprockets 55. A U-bolt 54 securesextension 21 to the upper run of chair 53 and U-bolt 56 secures theextension of unit 19 to the lower run of chain 53. A universal joint 57is secured to the shaft on which sprocket is mounted and a square shaft58 extends from joint 57. A crank may be inserted in the opening at theend of housing 10 to fit around shaft 58 and thereby rotate sprockets 55to move the leg units inwardly and outwardly of housing 10. I1 desired,a bevel or worm gear arrangement could be employed.

In operation, with the leg units in fully retracted position incompartments 16 and 17, the crank is used to move the extensions 21outwardly from each side of housing 10. Next, pins 51 are removed andlegs 28 are mover outwardly to release thereby plungers 37 from opening:39. Legs 28 may then be pivoted to vertical supporting position. In thisposition, lower leg section 29 is mover downwardly against the bias ofspring 46 until the desired apertures 48 and 49 are aligned at whichposition pin 51 is inserted. The reverse procedure is used to retractthr logs from vertical supporting relation.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that we have providedretractable legs for shipping containers or the like having a housingextending transversely of the con rainer for substantially the entirewidth thereof with thr legs being received slidably in the housing sothat thr legs are fully covered by the housing to form a compac unit.The container has transversely extending pocket: beneath the floorthereof in which the housings are re ceived or formed. If desired, aremovable housing uni containing the retractable legs may be provided.The re tractable legs pivot between vertical and horizontal posi tionsabout axes extending parallel to the longitudina axis of the containerand are moved in straight line path: inwardly and outwardly of thecompartment. It is tr especially be noted that our improved legstructure i: locked with the legs in supporting position by the weigh ofthe cargo container on the legs. This is accomplishet by providing anelongated slot having a pin connecting the slidable extension to thepivoted leg as shown ant described. Also, while we have shown the legunit: housed in a horizontal plane, it will be apparent that thr housing10 may be turned thus to position the leg one over the other.

While we have shown our invention in but one form it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it is no so limited, but is susceptible ofvarious changes anr modifications without departing from the spiritthereof and we desire, therefore, that only such limitations she] beplaced thereupon as are specifically set forth in thl appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In combination, a shipping container having a pock et extendingtransversely of the container for substan tially the entire widththereof, a retractable support f0] the container comprising a sleevemounted within saic pocket for sliding movement, a support bracketsecurer to the outer end of said sleeve and extending OH'LWfll'dI}therefrom in an extended position of the support bracket a retractableleg on the outer end of said bracket, mean: mounting said retractableleg for pivotal movement it a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis ofthe pocket said leg being pivoted between horizontal and verticapositions at a point generally in alignment with the lou gitudinal axisof the pocket whereby said leg and saic bracket may be received withinsaid pocket along witl said sleeve to form a compact structure.

2. In combination, a shipping container having a pock et extendingtransversely of the container for substantially the entire widththereof, a retractable support for the container comprising a sleevemounted within said pocket for sliding movement, a support bracketsecured to the outer end of said sleeve for sliding movement therewithand extending outwardly therefrom in an extended position of the supportbracket, 21 retractible leg on the outer end of said bracket, meansmounting said retractable leg for pivotal movement in a plane parallelto the longitudinal axis of the pocket, said leg being pivoted at apoint substantially in alignment with the longtudinal axis of the pocketso that said leg may be pivoted between a vertical extended position anda horizontal retracted position, and means to move the retractable legand sleeve inwardly and outwardly of the pocket in which it is receivedin telescoping relation to form a compact unit.

3. In combination, a shipping container having a pocket extendingtransversely of the container for substantially the entire widththereof, a retractable support for the container comprising a sleevemounted within said pocket for sliding movement, a leg support securedto said sleeve for sliding movement therewith and extending outwardlytherefrom in an extended position of the support, a retractable leg onthe outer end of said support, a pin extending through said leg andmounting said retractable leg for pivotal movement in a plane parallelto the longitudinal axis of the pocket, said pin being mounted within anelongated slot extending in a direction generally parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the leg whereby said leg may move in a generallyvertical direction relative to the support, said leg having an abutmentadjacent the slot, said support engaging the abutment in the extendedposition of the leg when a load is carried by the leg thereby to lockthe leg against pivoting, and said abutment being removed fromengagement with the support when the load is removed from the legthereby permitting pivoting of the leg.

4. In combination, a shipping container having a compartment extendingtransversely of the container for substantially the entire widththereof, a retractable support for the container comprising a sleevemounted within said compartment for sliding movement, a support bracketsecured to said sleeve for sliding movement therewith and extendingoutwardly therefrom in an extended position of the support, aretractable leg mounted on the outer end of said bracket, a pinextending through said leg mounting said retractable leg for pivotalmovement in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of thecompartment, said leg being mounted within an elongated slot extendingin a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the legwhereby said leg may move in a generally vertical direction relative tothe bracket, said leg having an upwardly facing abutment adjacent thelower end of said slot and said bracket having a pair of spaced armsadapted to rest on the abutment in the extended position of the leg,said support bracket resting on said abutment when a load is transferredto said leg thereby to lock the leg against pivoting, said legcomprising two telescoping portions with the lower portion being biasedupwardly toward the upper portion, and said leg being permitted to pivotbetween horizontal and vertical positions only when the load is removedfrom the leg and the bracket is removed from abutting relation with theleg.

5. In combination, a shipping container having a compartment extendingtransversely of the container for substantially the entire widththereof, a support for the container comprising a sleeve mounted withinsaid compartment for sliding inward and outward movement, a 70 supportbracket secured to the outer end of the sleeve, a leg connected to saidbracket, means mounting the leg for pivotal movement in a plane parallelto the longitudinal axis of the compartment and transversely of and avertical operative position supporting the. shipping container, said legcomprising upper and lower telescoping sect-ions,means extending betweenthe sections to bias the lower section toward the upper section inretracted position, means to retain releasably the leg in a horizontalposition on the bracket, and means to move the sleeve and leg thereoninwardly and outwardly of the compartment.

6. Supports adapted to be positioned on a shipping container comprisinga pair of longitudinally extending side-by-side compartments, a sleevemounted within each of said compartments on opposite ends thereof andadapted for sliding inward and outward movement relative to thecompartments, a leg support on the outer end of each sleeve, a legconnected to each of the leg supports, means mounting the legs forpivotal movement in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of thecompartments between horizontal inoperative position and verticaloperative position, each of said legs having two telescoping sections,means extending between the sections to urge the lower section towardthe upper section, means to retain releasably the legs in a horizontalposition on the leg support, and means to move the sleeves and legsthereon while they are retained in a horizontal position simultaneouslyinwardly and outwardly of the compartments, said means to move thesleeves comprising a chain mounted on sprockets with said sleeves beingsecured to the chain for movement therewith.

7. In combination, a shipping container having a compartment extendingtransversely of the container for substantiaily the entire widththereof, a support for the container comprising a sleeve mounted withinsaid com partment for sliding inward and outward movement, a supportbracket secured to the outer end of the sleeve, a leg connected to saidbracket, means mounting the leg for pivotal movement in a plane parallelto the longitudinal axis of the compartment and transversely of thecontainer between a horizontal inoperative position and a verticaloperative position supporting the shipping container, said legcomprising two telescoping sections, means extending between thesections to urge the lower section toward the upper section, means toretain releasably the leg in a horizontal position on the bracket, 2.foot portion on the lower telescoping section, and means to move thesleeve and leg thereon inwardly and outwardly of the compartment so thatthe foot portion is substantially flush with the outer surface of thecontainer in the inward position of the sleeve and leg thereby to form acompact unit.

8. The combination defined in claim 7 in which the compartment comprisesa box channel which is removably positioned in a transverse pocket onthe container and has a bail extending from the lower surface thereofwhereby a fork on the fork lift truck may engage said bail for liftingthe box channel.

9. The combination defined in claim 7 in which said support bracketcomprises a pair of spaced arms having apertures therethrough and saidleg has an abutment facing the arms on which the arms are adapted torest, said leg having an elongated slot extending in a directiongenerally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the leg, and a pinextending through said slot and the apertures in said arms to mount theleg for pivotal movement.

10. A support adapted to be positioned on a shipping containercomprising, an elongated compartment, a sleeve mounted within saidcompartment for sliding inward and outward movement, a support bracketsecured to the outer end of the sleeve, a leg connected to said bracket,means mounting the leg for pivotal movement in a plane parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the compartment between a horizontal inoperativeposition and a vertical operative position, said leg comprising upperand lower telescoping sections, means extending between the sections tobias the lower section toward the upper the container between ahorizontal inoperative position section in retracted position, means onsaid lower leg section to retain releasably the leg in a horizontalposition on the support bracket, means securing in retracted positionthe lower telescoping section to the upper section and being operativeto secure the sections together only when the leg is in horizontalposition, and means to move the sleeve and leg thereon inwardly andoutwardly of the compartment.

11. In combination, a shipping container having a compartment extendingtransversely of the container for substantially the entire widththereof, a retractable support for the container comprising a sleevemounted within said compartment for sliding movement, a support bracketsecured to said sleeve for sliding movement therewith and extendingoutwardly therefrom in an extended position of the support, aretractable leg mounted on the outer end of said bracket, a pinsecuredto said bracket and extending through said leg to mount the legfor pivotal movement in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of thecompartment, said leg having an elongated slot extending in a directiongenerally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the leg whereby the legmay move in a generally vertical direction relative to the bracket, saidleg having an upwardly facing abutment adjacent the lower end of saidslot and the lower surface of said bracket adapted to rest on theabutment when a load is transferred to the leg thereby to lock the legagainst pivoting, said leg comprising two telescoping sections, means tourge the lower section toward the upper section, a securing plungerextending from the upper end of said lower section, said pin secured tothe bracket having a horizontally extending opening therethrough andreceiving said plunger in the horizontal position of the leg therebyreleasably holding the leg in horizontal position, and means to move theleg and support bracket inwardly and outwardly of the compartment.

12. The combination defined in claim 11 in which a supporting foot issecured to the lower end of the lower leg section, and a removable pinsecures the lower and upper sections together in telescoped relationonly when the leg is in horizontal position with said plunger beingreceived by the opening in said first mentioned pin.

13. A support adapted to be positioned on a shipping containercomprising, an elongated compartment, a sleeve mounted within saidcompartment for sliding inward and outward movement, a support bracketsecured to the outer end of the sleeve, a leg connected to said bracket,means mounting the leg for pivotal movement in a plane parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the compartment between a horizontal inoperativeposition and a vertical operative position, said leg comprisingrelatively movable upper and lower sections, means extending between thesections to move the lower section toward the upper section in retractedposition, means to retain releasably the leg in a horizontal position onthe support bracket, means securing in retracted position the lowersection to the upper section only when the leg is in horizontalposition, and means to move the sleeve and leg thereon inwardly andoutwardly of the compartments.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS358,527 Zwoyer Mar. 1, 1887 2,777,156 Weisgarber Jan. 15, 1957 2,777,586Boysen Jan. 15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 694,467 France Sept. 16, 1930

